Meaning & use
assure you
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Meaning
phrasetransitive
to tell you confidently that something is true or will happen, so you stop worrying
Grammar: Assure takes a person as object; you can add that + clause or of + noun: assure you that … / assure you of something.
Patterns
- assure you that …
- assure you of something
- I can assure you …
I assure you that your luggage will arrive tomorrow.
She assured me of her full support.
I can assure you, there is nothing to worry about.
Word forms
| third person singular | assures |
|---|---|
| past tense | assured |
| past participle | assured |
| -ing form | assuring |
Common combinations
- assure someone that …
- The doctor assured her that the test results were normal.
- assure someone of something
- He assured us of his continued help.
- I can assure you
- I can assure you that this will not happen again.
- rest assured
- Rest assured, we will handle everything.
- assure yourself
- She assured herself that she had locked the door.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reassure
- Focuses on removing someone's fear or doubt; assure focuses on stating something confidently.
- promise
- Stronger and more personal: you commit to doing something.
- convince
- Means to make someone believe something, often by argument; assure is more about calming someone.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: assure you or ensure? assure you or insure?
assure you vs ensure
Ensure means to make sure something happens; assure means to tell someone confidently so they stop worrying. You ensure results, but you assure people.
assure you vs insure
Insure means to buy or provide insurance; assure is about giving someone confidence.
Practice
The manager ______ us that the payment had been sent.
Choose one answer.
Assure takes a person as object: assured us that … Ensured would mean 'made certain', which doesn't fit the 'told us confidently' meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “assure you”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.